


Intimidation

by bluemoonmaverick



Series: Supposition [25]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 15:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1945770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemoonmaverick/pseuds/bluemoonmaverick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is part of a series that, while sticking strictly to canon, explores the theory that Sam and Jack were engaged in a clandestine romance off-screen from Season 6 onward.</p>
<p>This tag takes place during and after the events of Company of Thieves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intimidation

General O'Neill walked by Effie's desk without so much as a glance in her direction. It had taken her awhile, but she had worked with the man long enough to understand that his moods rarely had anything to do with her. Still, she sometimes found it difficult not to take offense when he completely ignored her.

She suppressed a sigh. The General had been exceedingly grouchy for the past several days. Effie had realized early on that he was at his worst when Colonel Carter was away on a mission, and she knew the Colonel was presently off with the crew of the _Odyssey_ investigating some odd thing or the other. Nevertheless, the General was trying even her substantial patience today, and she suspected that something must have gone wrong. After all, he had barely said two words to her since he'd spoken with the SGC that morning.

The ringing of the phone startled her from her thoughts and stopped the General in his tracks. He turned and looked at her expectantly as she picked up the receiver.

"General O'Neill's office." She paused to listen to the voice on the other end of the line. "Yes, sir, he is. One moment, please." She placed the call on hold and addressed her supervisor. "It's General Landry again. He says it's urgent."

He clenched his jaw and nodded once. "Put it in my office, Effie."

"Yes, sir."

She transferred the call as the General walked back into his office, pushing the door closed behind him. Seeing that it hadn't quite shut all the way, Effie got up to finish the job. She had just grabbed the handle when something about the tenor of the conversation between the two men caused her to pause. The General had Landry on speaker, and although she knew she shouldn't, she couldn't help but linger just outside the door and listen to the tense exchange.

"We finally received another long range data burst from the _Odyssey's_ transponder," she heard Landry say. "It gives us some more insight into what happened after they were boarded."

"I'm assuming by your tone that it's not good news?" General O'Neill asked.

"It's not. But SG-1 is on their way."

"Good."

"I'm sending the transmission now. And Jack…you should prepare yourself."

The line went dead, and Effie stood stock still as she nervously waited for the General to play the transmission on his computer. But within seconds of the beginning of the recording, she found herself stifling a gasp at what she heard.

Worried that he had noticed her eavesdropping outside of his door, she reached out quickly to pull it closed. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of the General and realized then that he was paying absolutely no attention to her but was simply staring straight ahead, a haunted look on his face.

Effie felt her stomach turn.

oOoOoOo

The light outside his office window had all but faded when Effie knocked on his door to tell him she was going home. Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to see that it was after six. He nodded once at his secretary and turned back toward his computer, choosing to ignore the sympathetic look she gave him as she pulled his door shut.

With a tap of his finger, the transmission from the _Odyssey_ began playing again for the hundredth time that day. By now, Jack had it all but memorized, and as the recording began, he felt the familiar tightening of his gut at the sound of the stranger's voice.

_"Colonel Carter. I had heard you were quite attractive."_

_"I'm Colonel Paul Emerson, commander of this ship,"_ Emerson interrupted. _"What do you want?"_

_"Nothing you can do for me. Now, Colonel Carter on the other hand…Can I call you Samantha?"_

_"No,"_ came Sam's terse reply. Jack hit the button on his mouse, and the recording fast forwarded a bit.

_"I'm not going to help you,"_ she continued _._

_"I don't see what choice you have,"_ the stranger responded. _"You are going to do whatever it is I want you to do."_

_"Don't do it, Sam,"_ Emerson interjected.

Though Jack knew quite well what was coming, the sound of a gun being cocked sent a chill down his spine.

_"Oh, I suggest you should do it…Sam."_ His voice oozed with smarminess.

Emerson interrupted once again. _"Don't help them, Colonel. That's an order!"_

It took all of Jack's training not to flinch at the sound of a shot being fired, followed quickly by a body falling to ground, then several more shots.

_"I believe that now makes you the ranking officer on this ship, Colonel Carter. I suggest you get to work. Unless there's something else you'd rather do."_

After a brief pause, he heard Sam gasp as the stranger presumably grabbed her, his voice now low and raspy.

_"And I can think of several other things we could do."_

The recording ended abruptly, and Jack could feel his own heart pounding, as rage battled with impotence. There had been no further word from the _Odyssey_ or SG-1, which left him only with this recording and all the horrors his imagination could supply. He closed his eyes. He could almost see Sam's shocked face and the stranger's smirk as he spoke those last words, leaving no mistake as to what he intended.

Jack had met dozens of men like him before - little, insignificant men who'd finally found themselves in a temporary position of power. Men who knew but would never acknowledge that their power was fleeting. Men who would use that power to their full advantage, at least as long as they had it.

The single most dangerous kind of man. The kind of man who currently had his wife.

oOoOoOo

Daniel hesitated for only a moment before knocking on the door to Sam's quarters. He knew that she was likely exhausted from her earlier ordeal, but he needed to know what had happened before they'd arrived on the _Odyssey._ Now that the situation with Anateo and his crew had been resolved and they were on their way back to Earth, it seemed as good a time as any.

The door slid open soundlessly to reveal his obviously weary teammate. Upon seeing him standing there, though, her demeanor instantly brightened.

"Hey," he offered.

"Hey yourself," she replied with a smile.

"Mind if I come in?" She stood aside to let him to enter. Once the door closed, he turned to face her, his hands in his pockets. "So...how are you, Sam?"

"I'm fine," she responded instantly, but he could see the tension playing around her eyes.

He cocked his head at her. After ten years together, he knew instantly she was hiding something. "You sure?"

She stared at him a long time, most likely debating whether to tell him what was troubling her, before ultimately adopting a neutral, yet steely, expression. "Why wouldn't I be, Daniel?" she asked in a tone that indicated she clearly didn't want to discuss the matter.

But she should have known that he wouldn't give up so easily, despite how uncomfortable things had just become. He swore she'd been taking lessons from Jack in how to close herself off. Still, he'd had years to perfect his technique with the military man, so it took a lot more than a stern expression and pointed comment to make him back down now.

He cleared his throat and glanced down at his feet, in an attempt to appear unassuming, despite the fact that he was anything but. "It's just that...the transponder, it, uh..." He looked up at her then, his piercing blue eyes meeting hers. "It was still transmitting to the SGC when Anateo brought you and Emerson to the Bridge."

He watched something cross her face. Fear? Revulsion? Panic? Whatever it was, it was gone in an instant, her mask firmly back in place. "I see. How much did you hear?"

"We heard Emerson get shot. And...we heard some of what happened after." There was a long pause where Daniel stared at his friend and watched her resolve begin to crumble. "Sam-"

"Look, Daniel, nothing happened," she snapped suddenly before softening just a bit. "Still, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention this to Jack."

Daniel thought he detected a note of desperation in her voice. He looked at her apologetically. "I'm pretty sure he already knows."

oOoOoOo

Effie picked up the phone on the first ring and scowled at the General, who was now looming over her desk, trying to get a glimpse of the display. Ever since they'd received word that the _Odyssey_ and SG-1 were making their way home, the man had refused to leave her be.

"It's General Landry, sir. He says the _Odyssey_ is back in orbit."

She saw a wave of relief sweep his features. "Tell him that I want Colonel Carter beamed directly to my office."

"Yes, sir."

Effie relayed the message and watched the General stride into his office and close the door firmly behind him. As thankful as he was to have Colonel Carter back, she knew that he was still troubled about what had happened on that ship.

And as the flash of light from the transportation beam momentarily shone around the edges of the door, she said a silent prayer that the General's…Colonel was okay.

oOoOoOo

Jack watched as the light faded, leaving his wife standing before him still in her flight suit. He couldn't help but notice an uncharacteristic look of unease play across her features. But the moment the transportation cycle completed, she drew herself up tall and stood at attention.

"Sir," she said sharply.

He let out an exasperated huff, contemplating not for the first time how ridiculous this façade had become. "Jesus, Sam," he said softly. "I don't want a report."

She met his eyes, clearly trying to maintain military decorum. Then she blinked once, and in the next second, she was in his arms. She began to tremble, and he tried to suppress a rising sense of dread.

"Sam?" he whispered into her hair.

"I'm so sorry," she wept into his chest. "I should have been stronger; I should have done something to stop him, but I…I couldn't."

Jack felt a bolt of fear shoot down his spine. He held her more tightly to him and attempted to get his emotions under control. It was several long seconds before he finally mustered the courage to ask the question that had plagued him ever since he'd heard the recording from the transponder. "Did he-?"

"No," she replied definitively. She pulled back to look at him, and he knew it was true. Yet her eyes remained haunted. "Emerson," she whispered. "It was..." She stopped and shook her head. "He never saw it coming."

Jack realized then that the situation wasn't what he'd first thought, but it in some ways it might have been almost as bad. Even if Anateo hadn't touched her, she'd been terrified all the same. He'd scared her. And that was not a feeling to which she was accustomed. She'd stared down much bigger and much badder, but for whatever reason, that bastard had gotten to her. And she hadn't wanted anyone, least of all him, to know.

He felt his rage begin to build again. "I want to talk to him," he said, though what he really wanted to do was beat the ever living shit out of him.

"That's impossible," she responded immediately.

"Why?"

For the first time that day, he thought his wife looked almost like her usual self. He gave her a quizzical look as a mischievous grin began tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Vala beamed him into space."

He looked at her blankly for a moment before pulling her to him once more with a grin of his own. "You know, I'm starting to like that woman more and more."

Sam chuckled into his chest, and it occurred to him then that, as long as she came back to him in one piece, as long as they were together, they could work through the rest.

And everything would be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> All but the last line of the recorded dialogue are original to the episode.


End file.
